network meltdown


network meltdown

(networking)(By analogy with catastrophic failure of anuclear reactor) An event that causes saturation, or nearsaturation, of a network. Network meltdown usually resultsfrom illegal or misrouted packets (see Chernobyl packet)and typically lasts only a short time. It may also be causedby a hardware fault. It is the network equivalent ofthrashing.

network meltdown

A condition in which the network barely functions due to excessive traffic. It can be caused by a legitimate overload of valid traffic or by malicious or erroneous conditions. See broadcast storm and denial-of-service attack.